Life Lessons
by akiismarina
Summary: AU. Sakura is a High School girl with low self-esteem. She had a thing for a certain Uchiha prodigy but refuses to admit it. Then one day, he assigned to be her math tutor. But along the way, he teaches her important lessons in math & life.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Sakura Haruno groaned as the five minutes morning bell sounded. Carefully, she pulled herself to her feet and stretched.

"Sakura-chan." Hinata Hyuga called her. Sakura blankly looked at her before glancing down to the pure black backpack she was holding out.

"Thanks," she murmured to her best friend. Her voiced sounded monotone and zombie-like even to her own ears.

"Did you do your math homework?" Hinata asked gently. The two began to slowly make their way through the crowded hallways.

"Half of it," Sakura spoke feeling another wave of exhaustion wash over her. She took an eager swig of coffee. Her parents always considered her to be moody and rude in the morning, but Hinata knew better. Sakura was never a morning person. It took her at least an hour to get up in the morning, and a good three more to fully wake up.

"Sakura-chan… your grade is going to take a really nig hit if you keeping skipping out on your homework."

Sakura opened her mouth to tell Hinata to stop lecturing her. That she got enough lecturing on a daily basis from her family. But she quickly cut herself off, letting only a small squeak escape from her lips. Hinata never lectured Sakura, or looked down on her. She…supported Sakura.

"I had a weird dream last night." Sakura skillfully changed the subject. "About **him**."

"Uchiha-san?"

Sakura's only response was a small nod. She had met Sasuke Uchiha in her freshman English class with Iruka-sensei. But now, as juniors, they never spoke. If their respective best friends, Naruto and Hinata were not dating; they would probably never acknowledge one another's existence.

"It seems like they've been happening more frequently now." Hinata mused. "Maybe they mean something."

"No!"

There was a good reason for Sakura's stout, borderline nasty reply. Sasuke was liked universally through out the school. He had a rude, abrupt nature. One that, if he were anyone else, would have made him the most disagreeable person in the school. But there was a magnetic quality, to Sasuke. An aura of sorts. It made people like him, and strive for his approval. He was also a straight A honors students, and the schools star athlete.

"He's my exact opposite Hinata-chan." Sakura stated, breaking out of her reverie. "He's everything I'm not, everything I never will be." Sakura's voice grew softer, and more timid as she spoke. They paused outside of her first period math class. "I'll see you at lunch. Okay?"

"Okay. I'll meet you at the usual place." Hinata gave her friend a quick squeeze, then jogged off to her own first period physics class.

Reaching under her glasses, Sakura rubbed her eyes and mentally steeled herself for another day of math She entered the classroom, and sat in her seat in the front row, ignoring her brief pain of loneliness. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a notebook, and her half finished homework. Yawning, she reached for her coffee, and took a sip as she looked up at Kakashi-sensei's desk. There a sight that made her gag and choke on her coffee greeted her.

Kakashi-sensei was sitting at his desk speaking to none other then Sasuke Uchiha himself. Kakashi- sensei looked up in surprise at the sound of Sakura's coffing. Sasuke, realizing that Kakashi-sensei's attention was no longer focused on him, turned and shot Sakura a black stare.

"_If looks could kill…"_ Sakura thought, her face growing hot, and eyes growing wide.

"Haruno-san, may I speak with you?" Kakashi-sensei called out.

"Hai." Sakura slowly unfolded herself from her desk, and strolled hesitantly up to his desk. "Yes sir?"

Sakura tired to maintain eye contact with her teacher, but continually looked down, or over at Sasuke. She felt her face grow even hotter as she felt his intense eyes unleash their power on her.

"I noticed that your grades have been dropping. I've spoken with your past teachers, and they all reassure me you're a solid B range student. I realize that the material we are studying this year is difficult, so I've decided to assign you a tutor. Uchiha-san here is my top student., and he has agreed to act as you tutor. You will meet for a minimum of one hour a day, for seven days a week. When I feel that you've shown enough improvement, we'll begin to minimize the hours until you don't need a tutor at all. I expect you two to work very closely together."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Hinata stood quietly by the front door of the school. The lunch bell rang just over five minutes ago, and there was still no sign of Sakura. Glancing around to make sure there weren't any teachers nearby, Hinata pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. No new messages. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed as concern and anxiety slowly overcame her.

"_What if she got in trouble with Kakashi-sensei? What if she's sitting in the principal's office all alone? Her parents will come and make her feel even worse! What id she fell? She went to the bathroom and slipped on some water. The toilets in this school are always leaking. She could be on the floor right row, bleeding and…"_

"Hinata-chan!"

"Gahhhhh!" Hinata let out a yelp as someone shouted her name and grabbed her from behind. The strong arms around her waist loosened, and she whirled around. Her surprised lavender met laughing clear blue ones.

"Naruto-kun!" she gasped.

"Hehe! The one and only! Sorry for sorry you like that." Naruto smiled cheerfully at her, and gently kissed her cheek. Resting his forehead against hers, he stared intently into her eyes. "What's wrong Hinata-chan?"

"Its Sakura chan. She's missing!"

"Sakura-chan? Didn't you say she hasn't been doing well in math lately? Kaka-sensei probably kept her after class to talk about it She's probably just moving slow today because of it. That's not exactly the best way to start your day."

"Mmmm… maybe your right. I guess I'm just being paranoid. Arigato Naruto-kun!" Hinata forced her tense muscles to loosen. Naruto eyed her critically, seeing she didn't really believe him. Feeling a surge of love and concern for Hinata, he gently cupped her cheek and lowered his lips to hers.

"Ehem."

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata cried out, breaking away from Naruto quickly.

"Hey Hinata. Sorry I'm late, I couldn't get my locker open." Sakura shifted her weight for one foot to another and hesitantly meet Hinata's eyes.

"I'll see you later Naruto-kun. Don't forget to hand in your History report." Hinata said quickly, seeing a sense of urgency in Sakura's eyes. Naruto looked at his girlfriend, surprised at the sudden dismissal, then at Sakura. Realizing that there was some sort of supper secret girl ESP at hand, he quickly nodded and jogged off muttering about having to speak to "Teme."

Silently the girls made their way into the courtyard to "their oak." Hinata eyed Sakura critically as they took out their bentos and began to eat. The silence stretched for a few minutes, Hinata knew Sakura would tell her what happened when she was ready.

"Kakashi-sensei called me up to his desk this morning before class started." Sakura began, chewing thoughtfully. "He said he noticed that my grades are dropping, and wants e to start seeing a tutor."

"Oh? Would you like me to tutor you Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, but you can't. He assigned me a tutor already. We have to work for an hour a day everyday. Even on weekends." Sakura's voice was flat.

"Who did Kakashi-sensei assign to you?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

Sakura stared at her reflection on her large, full-body mirror. There was a bright look on her face, and her eyes held an intelligent gleam to them. It was 7 o'clock. He had just finished dinner and showered. Sakura was the kind of person who felt more awake and in the zone later in the evening. This was **her** time of day.

Her back was back in a smooth ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a large sweatshirt. Her glasses were once again perched on her nose. It was the same thing she wore to school every day, but she felt better. She felt more put together, neater looking.

"_Perfect! I may not ne pretty, but at least I don't look like a mess._ " She thought. Feeling nervous, she ran downstairs and turned on the television in the family room. Sasuke was due to arrive in a half an hour.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Surprised, Sakura turned off the television and ran to the front door. Her surprise and nervousness increased when she saw just who was standing on her porch. Sasuke had just arrived, 20 minutes early, for their first tutoring session.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

– Heartbeat

Sakura gulped audibly as she gripped the knob to the front door. Sucking in a deep breath, she swung the door open. Slowly her eyes grew wide, and a blush fell across her cheeks as she slowly took in his form. He wore jeans and a dark-blue fitted tee-shirt. His backpack hung over a single shoulder. Mentally shaking herself, she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.

"Where do you want to work?" Sasuke asked briefly.

"Let's go… into the living room." Sakura's blush grew as she stuttered over her words.

"_God I sound like an idiot!" _She berated herself. Quickly she led Sasuke into the living room, and then ran off to the kitchen mumbling something about food and drinks.

Once she reached the sanctuary of the kitchen, Sakura let out a deep sigh of relief. Planning for Sasuke's visit and actually having him in her house were two very different things. His presence made the whole process completely terrifying. Taking deep and what she hoped would be calming breaths; she splashed her face with cool water, dried off, and quickly assembled some tea and finger snacks. Steeling herself against her nerves she re-entered the living room.

Sasuke had cleared off section on the coffee table on which he had placed his own and Sakura's math books. He had also turned on the radio to play softly in the background. Sensing her presence, Sasuke turned and took the snack and drink tray from her hands, and placed it at the center of the table before sitting down. His silence was suffocating; Sakura felt her heart rate begin to slowly accelerate. Matching his silence, she sat on the opposite end of the couch, and they began to work.

* * *

Sakura groaned lightly as she stretched her hands above her head and arched her back. She'd been working hard for nearly an hour, and her back and shoulders felt like they needed a complete realignment. Working with Sasuke proved to be very helpful. The radio had been playing pop music, softening their long periods of silence. Sasuke had started out by giving her a sheet filled with Trigonometry problems similar to the ones they has been doing in class. He read a book while she struggled through them, leaving the ones she didn't understand blank or unfinished. When she was done, it had taken only a minute to check and correct everything. Sakura felt a wave of jealousy as she watched him quickly maneuver from one problem to the next. Then the lesson started. Sasuke was a surprisingly patient and throughout teacher. He was abrupt and monotone, but he knew what he was doing. And more importantly how to teach it. By the end of the hour, Sakura felt as though she had finally begun to understand Trig.

Sasuke was sitting in his trademark pose – hunched over with his chin resting in his folded hands. Silently he regarded Sakura out of the corner of his eye as she stretched, and smiled in satisfaction. His scowl deepened.

"Haruno." He spoke in a low and faintly menacing voice.

"Huh?!" Sakura grunted in surprise. Through out the entire evening he had spoken as little as possible and avoided referring to her directly. He preferred to show her everything rather verbally instruct her. And his ego stated that she would simply listen to him, alerted by the sound of his voice (he was right).

"Where are your parents?" Sasuke asked, after a short pause.

"They travel a lot." Sakura stated in surprise. "They're business people."

"Where are they?" Sasuke repeated.

"London. They left last week. Unless things go well, and they get a new deal, they'll be back in a month." Sakura stopped abruptly, feeling as though she were rambling. Silence stretched uncomfortably over the two, until Sasuke quickly stood, grabbed his bag and began to walk to the front door. Sakura, surprise jogged to catch up to him and see him out. She went to close the front door behind him when he caught the door with a dull thud. Leaning in so he towered intimidating over her, he stared directly into her eyes. Blood rushed in Sakura's eyes as her heart beat went erratic.

"Lock the doors and windows." He growled finally. Holding the eye contact for a moment longer then necessary, he turned and slammed the door shut behind him. Sakura leaned back against the wall and sank down to the floor. Hugging her knees, she struggled to regain control of her body and mind.

_ "What was that?!" _She thought frantically. _"Could he… have been worried about me?" _

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four- Fluff-filled Filler

Hinata started in surprise when a pair of old, worn sneakers appeared in front of her. Her eyes followed the sneakers up to a pair of loose jeans an overly-large sweat shirt, and came to rest on Sakura's face.

"Good morning Sakura-chan." She began hesitantly. She glanced over at the clock. "You're really early today."

"Only by like ten minutes. I left the house early."

Hinata's eye grew wide. She studied Sakura's face closer; her cheeks were flushed from her walk and her eyes were shinning and alert. She'd never seen Sakura like this so early in the day. Or while they were with their classmates.

"How did your tutoring session go last night?" she asked finally.

"Umm… surprisingly well. Look – I even did all of my math homework!" Sakura exclaimed. She shoved several sheets of paper filled with Trig problems into Hinata's face.

"This looks really good Sakura-chan. It looks like they're all correct."

"They better be!" Sakura growled. She sat next to Hinata and crossed her legs meditatively. "We spent forever on those." Sakura paused to gather her thoughts.

"Is something wrong?" Hinata asked, seeing the pensive look overcome Sakura's face.

"Umm… Well I don't really know." Sakura began. She paused and then launched into a recount of Sasuke's strange behavior the night before. Hinata listened intently, trying to keep a gleeful smile from creeping onto her face.

"_Pour Sakura-chan,"_ she thought. _"She's head-over-heels for him and can't even bring herself to admit it!"_ Trying hard to keep her thoughts from showing on her face, Hinata nodded and hummed at all the right places. She glanced to her right and saw Naruto coming toward them. Knowing Sakura wouldn't want Naruto to hear their conversation, she tapped her on the knee and point to him. Sakura quickly grew quite.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Good-morning Hin-chan!" Naruto called as he reached them. He crouched down and gave Hinata a kiss on the cheek. Then, unable to resist, he pressed his lips lovingly against hers. Sakura watched with a mixture of amusement, embarrassment, and… jealousy. Silently she gathered her things and stood.

"I'm going to class." She called over her shoulder as she quickly made her exit. Hinata tried to pull back to call Good bye, but Naruto slide his hand behind her head holding her steady. After another moment, ha gave a final nibble to her lip and leaned back in satisfaction. Hinata's eyes fluttered open lazily. Naruto sat on the floor next to her, and pulled her into his arms.

"Did Sakura-chan tell you about her tutoring session yet?" He asked. A mischievous glint had entered his eyes. Hinata nodded, and told Naruto everything Sakura had just told her. When she finished Naruto began to laugh openly.

"Gomen Hin-Chan! Demo, that's a little different from the story Sasuke –teme told me."

Why? What did he tell you? Hinata asked. Naruto glanced at the clock.

"Not now, there isn't enough time. After school- okay?" Naruto gave Hinata a gentle kiss, and jumped up to run to class. Hinata watched him turn the corner before gathering her books and making her own way to class.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five – Sasuke's Side

Hinata was fairly vibrating with nerves and curiosity all day. She couldn't wait to see Naruto that afternoon and find out Sasuke's version of what had happened the night before. Sakura could easily sense her usually mellow friend's excitement, but no amount of questioning stares could get Hinata to reveal the excitement's source.

"Finally!" Hinata gasped as the finale bell rang. Swiftly she leaped up and gathered her books. "Gotta go Sakura- chan! Talk to you later!"

"See you later!" Sakura shouted at Hinata's retreating back. She shook her head, puzzled at Hinata's behavior.

*** *** ***

Naruto slide into the booth across from Hinata. They were at a small, local dinner. It was popular among High school students, and always became busy after school let out. Most of the tables were filled. It was crowded enough that you could speak in a normal voice without fearing being over heard, but small enough that there was an atmosphere of privacy and secludedness. Calmly Naruto ordered his usual: pork ramen. Hinata choose to get a chicken wrap. An easy silence fell over the two as they waited for their food. Naruto grinned as he sipped his tea; Hinata squirmed in her seat, obviously eager to hear what Sasuke had said.

"I love you," he murmured, gazing softly at her.

"What?" Hinata asked, unable to hear him over the soft drone of the other students around the other students around them. Naruto just smiled and shook his head.

"So…" Naruto began, drawing out the word. He chuckled as Hinata's squirming increased. It was just too much fun to tease her! "I spoke to Sasuke this morning." Naruto took another sip of his tea.

"Naruto-kun! Please, what did he say?" Hinata begged.

"He said 'Wake up Dobe.' Then kicked my leg… hard." Naruto said, lowering his voice a few octaves when he imitated Sasuke. Hinata stared at him; her eyes where wide and confused.

"Naruto-kun!" She shouted in frustration. Several heads turned to glare at them. Naruto jumped up and walked to her side of the table.

"Gomen!" He cried out. He bent over and quickly kissed her. Pulling away, they both blushed realizing that people were staring. Silently Naruto sat back in his seat.

"Well Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan's basic story are the same. It is smaller stuff that was different." Naruto began quickly, hoping to appease Hinata. "He was really surprised when he saw Sakura-chan. I mean not her in general but the way she acted and looked. He described her as happy and almost… confident. Those are two things Sakura never acts like, you know? I think he likes the way she looked; her aura was really different. And he said she was nervous, but worked really hard. He was surprised with how smart she actually is. She's always so quite, you'd never know. and I think he's worried about her. She's staying all by herself at home, which is pretty dangerous. He practically killed me when he told me about it. He thinks you and I should be taking better care of her. I've never seen him act like that about someone else!" Naruto finished with a flourish. He and Hinata sat, grinning at each other. They both were thinking about how ironic it was they could see what their friends were so blind to. Hinata glanced at her watch.

"Why don't we stop by there tonight. Say… a little after eight. Its Friday so we'll bring movies and all four of us can hang out there all night. It will be like a double date."

"Alright. If I can get Sasuke-teme to stay… how much do you want to bet that they don't notice they double date component?"

"No way! That's a bet I can never win!" Laughing, the couple began to eat and debate about which movies to bring that night.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six- Sasuke's Temper

Sakura glanced nervously around her living room. Her body was a buzz with nervous energy. She had carefully set up the table with her math book, and food out and ready. Snapping her fingers in remembrance she skipped over to the radio and snapped it on. She sighed feeling relived that everything was set up. She quickly glanced at the clock. It was quarter after six; a large sweat drop appeared on the back of her head.

"I must be outta my mind!" she chided her self softly. Shaking her head in disbelief at her own antics, Sakura darted into the kitchen. She had taken a shower when she arrived home from school, and immediately put o her favorite pajamas. Her pants where white and made of a light weight cotton. On them was printed over and over again was the phrase "Rollin' With the Hommies" over a picture of a spotted hamster running in a pink plastic ball. Her top was a simple light pink tank top. She also wore slippers that were in the shape of large penguin heads wearing large pink earmuffs.

"_I should get changed,"_ she thought only to stop herself. _"I'm being ridiculous! He wont be here for another forty-five minutes! I'd rather story comfy until the absolute last minute!" _

Glade to have set herself straight she began to make herself some home made hot chocolate. Feeling giddy at the thought of the awaited drink she grabbed a box of thin mints, her cup, and set off to the living room. Grinning from ear to ear she sat down on the couch and eagerly snapped the television on. A squeal of delight escaped her lips when she saw that her favorite show, Ouran Host Club, was on. Giggling as she watched Tamaki try and seduce a Haruhi shaped mannequin, she dipped her thin mint into her hot chocolate and ate it whole.

"_Mmm! Chocolate on chocolate." _She thought. She took a deep draft from her cup.

"Hey, baka!" a deep angry voice growled from behind her. A hand reached out, and grabbed her ponytail yanking her entire head back. Sakura yelped in a mixture of pain and surprise. Opening her eyes she found herself staring at an upside down Sasuke.

"Eh?! Holy… jeez! What? How… huh?!" Sakura stammered as she struggled to her feet. "Uchiha-san?"

"Well I'm sure as hell not Naruto!" he roared. Sakura shrank back in fear at his anger and winced at the insulting tone he had added to the absent Naruto's name.

"And you!" he shouted. He stalked to the front of the couch. Sakura's mouth became dry as she noticed the athletic fluency his body moved with. "What the hells the matter with you?"

Sakura's eyes grew wide with fear and confusion. Quickly she backpedaled in a desperate attempt to put distance between herself and the furious Uchiha. But she didn't move quickly enough. Quick as a flash he reached out and grabbed her hand. Yanking her back he threw her on to the couch. Terrified she shrank her body back against the couch and curled her legs up so the rested against the arm of the couch; she crossed her arms across her stomach. Sasuke leaned over her resting his left hand on the back of the couch over her right shoulder. His other hand came down heavily on the arm of the couch just inches from her legs. His face hovered inches from her own.

"Well?" he growled. Sakura blinked her eyes. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She couldn't figure out what to say. She shook her head slightly from side to side feeling confused, scared, and half wishing he would lean in and kiss her.

"I don't understand," she finally croaked out.

"Don't understand? You left the front door wide open. Most of the ground floor windows are open too. What's wrong with you? You didn't even know I was here until I grabbed you. What if I were some sort of psychopathic rapist? You would have been dead by now." Sasuke voice grew lower and lower. It was filled with anger and power and made Sakura's heart flutter. Sasuke pushed his body away from her and took several steps back.

"_I told that idiot not to leave her alone! I told him he should stay with her; check up on her. She's just lucky I came over!" _

Finally released from her Uchiha induced prison Sakura climbed over the arm of the couch, and stood behind it. Feeling better to have a barrier between them she took a couple of deep breaths.

"I always lock up before I go to bed." She whispered, feeling the need to defend herself. Sasuke turned his attention back to Sakura. His glare was piercing and nearly sent Sakura into cardiac arrest.

"You think that would stop someone from breaking in?" he asked. His voice was deceptively calm.

"Who'd want to?" Sakura asked, honestly confused. "There isn't anything special here. All our neighbors are of equal and even higher wealth. There isn't anything you could get here that you couldn't get from the old lady next door."

Sasuke stared at Sakura feeling disbelief begin to creep in and join his anger.

"Idiot!" he spat out. He shot her a final glare, and swept out of her house. Sakura continued to stare at the spot the Sasuke had been standing at just moments before. The sound of the door slamming shut snapped her out of her reverie. Tears filled her eyes; her breaths came in short desperate gasps. She ran into the kitchen and frantically grabbed at her phone. Her fingers felt stiff and refused to do the simplest of tasks. Finally she lifted the phone to her ear. Her hands were shaking so hard she almost couldn't hear the sound of the phone ringing on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hinata-chan!" Sakura gasped out. A wild sob escaped from her lips.


End file.
